Dao
No longer a newbie, moving up!
One option is the Sony RX series which has 1 inch sensor and it is a point and shoot camera with pretty decent optics. RX100 (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VA: Digital Photography Review and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VI: Digital Photography Review ), the very compact and capable camera while the RX10 (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV: Digital Photography Review) is bigger, but the lens can go up to 600mm (35mm equivalent) for the 3rd and 4th generation.
Sample photos from flickr for RX10
Search: sony rx10 | Flickr
Sample photos from flickr for RX100
Search: sony rx100 | Flickr
Sample photos from flickr for RX10
Search: sony rx10 | Flickr
Sample photos from flickr for RX100
Search: sony rx100 | Flickr